Yesterday, we took you to San Pedro where the town council was getting ready to phase out plastics that shouldn't be bought or sold in the first place.

But while it's understandable that such a process may take a while, the San Pedranos don't feel the same way about the slow construction of the bridge spanning the north and south side of the island. It was announced in December 2021 that the bridge would be re-constructed with cement instead of the planks it had before, but nearly a year later, it still isn't completed.

Area rep, Andre Perez, says the reason is because they ensure the bridge is constructed correctly, and will last decades.



Channel 7

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New Cement Bridge in San Pedro Should Be Ready By Easter

The new cement bridge that connects both sides of San Pedro Town in Boca del Rio should be ready for use by Easter. The crossing was deemed necessary after the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge wooden bridge almost collapsed in the latter part of last year. The planks were lifting and the structure was not sturdy enough for freight with construction supplies to cross over. The San Pedro Town Council has had to scramble to find five million dollars for the construction of the new bridge, but also to repair the old one for use. When completed, the new cement bridge will have lights in the centre for traffic going both directions. Minister of the Blue Economy, Andre Peres is the Area Representative for Belize Rural South. He told us that in order to avoid another situation like what happened in this case, there has to be a system put in place for timely maintenance of the bridge.

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“The old bridge has been broken up because it’s dilapidated. You’ll recall that in 2021 in May, six months after the town council got elected, that bridge almost collapsed. It was a hazard, so we had to scramble and the mayor and I had to really see what we could have done to give immediate attention to it. So that in itself made us build another concrete structure, which is already done, and right now we’re repairing it. It’s only eighteen months. While the image out there is that the work is slow, I think in eighteen months we’ve made strides, big strides. But I can understand the desperation of our people after so many years of abandonment, the infrastructure dilapidating – almost in shambles. We’re expecting by the end – next couple of months, it will be finished and we will have the next bridge in place and properly organized. We have to take into consideration preventative maintenance. Don’t wait until it’s totally dilapidated to deal with it. If we put a mechanism in place it becomes less expensive for the municipality and for the community.”

Channel 5

Boca del Rio bridge completion now projected for early 2023

The reconstruction of the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge in the Boca del Rio area may not be completed by the end of the year as previously projected by the San Pedro Town Council. Mayor Gualberto ‘Wally’ Nuñez said on Wednesday, November 23rd, that it may take up to February 2023 before the concrete bridge is fully open to motorists. When Nuñez’s administration took office in 2021, they noticed that the bridge, which had been built mainly of hot-tip galvanized steel and wooden planks, was in deplorable condition. They feared it could collapse and started working on securing funds through a loan to turn the old wooden bridge into a concrete structure. Works began in December 2021, and currently, only half of the bridge has been finished. This side of the bridge is fully concrete and includes an aisle for pedestrians.

The other phase of the bridge reconstruction saw the dismantling of the other wooden section. Works saw a delay due to Hurricane Lisa in early November, and instead of being completed by the end of December, the Mayor said additional time would be needed to complete the job. “We are asking the general public to cooperate with us and be patient. When the bridge is ready in a couple of months, it will make commuting between the south and north of the island much easier,” said Nuñez. Currently, the traffic on the bridge is taking place only on the side that has been completed, creating congestion during the peak hours of the day. The cost of the project was initially set at $2 million, however, months later, the Mayor mentioned in an interview that they would need $3 million more to complete the bridge. No updates have been made available to say if the cost has changed.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun

Sure and steady progress is being made with the bridge construction. Even on Sundays the guys are hard at work!
San Pedro Town Council

The bridge is coming right along…I can’t wait for it to be finished. Photo by San Pedro Scoop



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Layer by layer, San Pedro's newest landmark is coming along steadily. We thank the public for your patience and support! The bridge team works tirelessly every day to keep a balance between the flow of traffic and the construction.


Click photos for more pictures!

The bridge - pic taken Friday. Update: I bet a kid that I gave a ride to that it would be finished by Feb 1st. $1. He said "no way" - he was about 10. Neither of us has any training in engineering. Photos by San Pedro Scoop

the bridge is in the home stretch…and it couldn’t happen at a better time. The island feels packed this week! Photos by San Pedro Scoop